A new Transport Commissioner for the North with a £15bn budget for road and rail should be announced in the Chancellor’s final Budget, an influential think tank has said.

IPPR North says George Osborne must empower the whole of the region - and not just Greater Manchester - so local decision-makers can build a future.

The centre-left organisation ­argues the region must take control through a Transport for the North (TfN) group - similar to Transport for London (TfL) -which would be accountable to residents through local authorities.

The £15bn should be placed in TfN’s hands to create rail and road links between North cities.

It would be the last chance for the Coalition to address a gulf in spending between the North East and the South East. There is 24 times more money-per-head spent in London than in the region.

Chancellor George Osborne

IPPR is also calling for the appointment of a Transport Commissioner for the North to act as a figurehead; a move towards a contactless cross-boundary ticketing system; the ability to manage rail franchises, rolling stock and stations; and the end to Pacer trains being used on the Northern line.

Ed Cox, director of IPPR North, said: “The North East has suffered from slow and inadequate transport links for too long, particularly on rail, so it is vital the Northern powerhouse does not exclude the North East and focus on the Manchester-Leeds axis alone.

“Our proposals set out plans and a governance structure that will ensure that all of the North East has a place at the table and can push for its own priorities, but in doing so the region must remember that transport improvements further afield will also benefit passengers and businesses in the North East.

“Establishing Transport for the North would ensure its rail, road, port and air networks are properly linked into a modern, integrated transport network and prove crucial to the area’s economic prospects.

“Northern transport infrastructure is dated, poorly integrated and lacking the large-scale investment it needs, but Transport for the North could be at the vanguard of a coherent economic plan that will fire up the Northern powerhouse. Devolving transport powers and budget to the North will help transform the region’s growth prospects and rebalance the economy.

Newcastle Central Station

“What we now need to see is the warm words on Northern growth translated into firm commitments to make this vision for a modern transport network a reality.”

Bill MacLeod, senior partner at PwC in Newcastle, said: “This report provides a solid blueprint for devolved decision making for transport policy in the region. If the North is to stand a chance of taking on the world, as the chancellor has suggested, then its cities need to be linked more closely.

“That it takes four hours by train to travel about 120 miles between the two ports of Liverpool and the Tyne, is clearly not good enough.

“The North has long been calling for better connectivity between cities outside London. Tackling the region’s transport system will enable it to fulfil its economic potential, benefitting our own communities as well as contributing to the country as a whole.

“We now need to build on the momentum of the Northern Powerhouse debate and push on timescales, which this report addresses.”